[Music]
much like today’s Birds pterosaurs ruled
Earth’s Mesozoic skies adapting to many
different habitats while their dinosaur
cousins roamed below but these were no
birds pterosaurs were flying reptiles
pterosaurs means winged lizard in Greek
and they were the very first vertebrates
on earth to take to the skies the most
well known pterosaur is the pterodactyl
it was the first one discovered back in
the 18th century but since then
paleontologists have uncovered more than
200 different species including
Pteranodons which were quite large and
Quetzalcoatl is one of the most massive
pterosaurs of all named for the Aztec
winged serpent God Quetzalcoatl has had
a wingspan of nearly 40 feet and likely
soared through the skies hunting for
baby dinosaurs below some like Anurag
natha’s with the size of small birds and
probably preferred to eat insects with
such a wide range in pterosaur size
there is ongoing debate over how some
species were able to fly but
similarities in their wing structure and
anatomy may offer clues pterosaur wings
ran along their sides from shoulder to
ankle and each wing was held up and
supported by an elongated digit the
first pterosaur ever discovered was
actually named for this characteristic
pterodactyl is a combination of the
Greek words for wing and finger each
pterosaur wing consisted of a tough
membrane laced with blood vessels
fibrous cords and muscles and it has
been theorized that the muscles could
alter the shape of their wings in
mid-flight the same way a passenger jet
might adjust its wings during takeoff
pterosaur fossils also suggest that even
the largest species must have been
relatively light for their size because
much like birds their bones were hollow
hollow bones would have enabled even
Quetzalcoatl as’ to soar but not all
pterosaurs could fly in 2009
paleontologists found an enormous
specimen in Transylvania that they
nicknamed Dracula at 11 and a half feet
tall with a wingspan of 39 feet it’s one
of the largest pterosaurs ever found but
the shape of its shoulders and wings
suggests it probably couldn’t get off
the ground with every new discovery
paleontologists are learning more about
the nature of pterosaurs
but the hollow bones that enabled some
of the largest pterosaurs to fly are
also part of the reason their fossils
are so often incomplete and the full
picture of a sky once ruled by reptiles has yet to be revealed
much like today’s Birds pterosaurs ruled
Earth’s Mesozoic skies adapting to many
different habitats while their dinosaur
cousins roamed below but these were no
birds pterosaurs were flying reptiles
pterosaurs means winged lizard in Greek
and they were the very first vertebrates
on earth to take to the skies the most
well known pterosaur is the pterodactyl
it was the first one discovered back in
the 18th century but since then
paleontologists have uncovered more than
200 different species including
Pteranodons which were quite large and
Quetzalcoatl is one of the most massive
pterosaurs of all named for the Aztec
winged serpent God Quetzalcoatl has had
a wingspan of nearly 40 feet and likely
soared through the skies hunting for
baby dinosaurs below some like Anurag
natha’s with the size of small birds and
probably preferred to eat insects with
such a wide range in pterosaur size
there is ongoing debate over how some
species were able to fly but
similarities in their wing structure and
anatomy may offer clues pterosaur wings
ran along their sides from shoulder to
ankle and each wing was held up and
supported by an elongated digit the
first pterosaur ever discovered was
actually named for this characteristic
pterodactyl is a combination of the
Greek words for wing and finger each
pterosaur wing consisted of a tough
membrane laced with blood vessels
fibrous cords and muscles and it has
been theorized that the muscles could
alter the shape of their wings in
mid-flight the same way a passenger jet
might adjust its wings during takeoff
pterosaur fossils also suggest that even
the largest species must have been
relatively light for their size because
much like birds their bones were hollow
hollow bones would have enabled even
Quetzalcoatl as’ to soar but not all
pterosaurs could fly in 2009
paleontologists found an enormous
specimen in Transylvania that they
nicknamed Dracula at 11 and a half feet
tall with a wingspan of 39 feet it’s one
of the largest pterosaurs ever found but
the shape of its shoulders and wings
suggests it probably couldn’t get off
the ground with every new discovery
paleontologists are learning more about
the nature of pterosaurs
but the hollow bones that enabled some
of the largest pterosaurs to fly are
also part of the reason their fossils
are so often incomplete and the full
picture of a sky once ruled by reptiles has yet to be revealed
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